Call for tighter security at train station

A Baldivis student has called for tighter security outside Rockingham train station after he was set upon by a group of youths as he walked to his car.

The 18-year-old, who asked to remain anonymous, arrived at the train station at about 7.30pm last Monday.

He was walking through an underpass which leads to the station’s new carpark, when he was set upon by four youths, believed to be aged between 13 and 16.

“When I walked out of the bus stop area these guys started saying weird, suggestive things at two girls walking separately,” he said.

“When I turned round to see what was going on they started shouting at me and throwing rocks.” The Murdoch University student said the group began bumping into him as he and one of the girls attempted to reason with them.

He said they then followed him to his car and demanded money.

“They told me to hand over my phone because they needed a new one,” he said.”

The student said he was afraid to unlock his car because the youths kept insisting he give them a lift somewhere.

He said they began trying to grab his backpack as he decided to abandon his car and walk away from them.

“One of the girls had gone to her car but came back to pick me up and we called the police,” he said. The student’s mother said she emailed Transperth when her son arrived home to appeal for tighter security at the station’s new car park.

“It seems security is only inside the station,” she said.

“They don’t patrol what is happening when people leave the station for their cars.”

A Transperth spokesman said Rockingham train station was manned during the day and into the evening by customer service assistants and transit officers.

“Additional parking is being built at Rockingham station, with completion due in June,” he said. “The work includes additional CCTV coverage and lighting.”